The global food system is undergoing rapid processes of transformation and modernization. This is causing important changes in developing country food supply chains, particularly in supermarket-driven chains and high-value export chains, but the welfare implications of these changes are poorly understood. The aim of this paper is to analyse and compare the welfare effects in different horticulture export chains in Sub-Saharan Africa. We disentangle different types of effects and the channels through which rural households are affected. Our main conclusion is that increased high-value exports and the modernization of export supply chains can bring about important positive welfare effects, and that these effects can come in various ways through product or labour market effects and through direct and indirect effects.